Drive safe

Blitz to target tourists

Senior constable Ray Stelvie stops a vehicle on the Milford Road, north of Te Anau, during a joint police and NZ Transport Agency operation targeting tourists.

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Police and the NZ Transport Agency are targeting tourists in a one-week traffic blitz between Queenstown and Milford Sound.

Police will target drivers breaking the road rules and vehicles will be stopped for inspections, police say.

Southern District road policing manager Inspector Andrew Burns said the operation was a pro-active measure to reduce the number of crashes on the popular route and highlight the dangers of the Milford road.

''The Milford road has been identified as a high risk road with a lot of foreign drivers and a lot of crashes,'' Mr Burns said.

''The operation is a chance to highlight the risks to tourists, occupational drivers and even locals.''

Police and NZ Transport staff would be monitoring the entire roading network between Queenstown and Milford Sound, he said.

Visitors driving to Milford Sound were not always aware of the challenges along the way, he said.

The trip was often much longer than people anticipated with drivers breaking the speed limit to reach Milford Sound and fatigue was also a factor in making the trip more hazardous, Mr Burns said.